A+ Art Blog PATRICIA FRISCHER, the coordinator of the San Diego Visual Arts Network, writes these occasional notes. These blogs are now available at this link where you can comment back.
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Is La Jolla coming back as a center for the visual arts in San Diego?
La Jolla is known as an upscale shopping community with lots of sales art galleries, but not that much art street cred. I had high hopes when I planned my recent trip there to see three new galleries. I was most impressed with the beautiful white Scott White space showing Ross Bleckner. On Jan 14th there will be a community "art walk" in La Jolla and Scott White Contemporary Art will unveil the gallery's second show in this new location having moved from Little Italy. Stranger Than Paradise is a retrospective of photographs by Stefanie Schneider that have been hand-picked by White himself. Although her work has been showcased in collections and museums around the world, this is Schneider's 1st solo show in San Diego. You can also still see the William Glen Crooks exhibition
Thumbprint Gallery does not have street level windows and neither it norAlexander Salazar Fine Art were open for business on the day I visited. Neither appeared to show work different from their other gallery spaces in North Park and downtown. But both will be open in the evening on Jan 14. ASFA (6-9 pm) will show paintings by Erik Skoldberg from San Diego and sculptures by Kevin Barrett from New York. Thumbprint (5-10 pm) invented Works of Wisdom, works by an eclectic mix of artists using famous quotes as their stimulus.
I used this opportunity to drop into Quint Contemporaryto see the stunning minimal back painted glass works byThór Vigfússon. These works do not read in photographs but have such a quiet power. Also close by is RB Stevenson and I discovered the work of John Rogers, which blew me away. This local professor at San Diego State is another hidden SD treasure. The show at the end of December was sparse because many of the works were sold, but that made the space ever more open and elegant.
The Kathleen Marshall: Still in Paris gouache paintings at theAthenaeum Art and Music Librarywere almost photographic the technique was so perfect but it was the way that they drew you into the scene and made you believe, for the moment at least, that you could be living in one of these rooms and about to step into the sun dappled garden that is their true charm..
I visited The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego to see the Phenomenal: California Light Space and Surface. I knew the works of most of these artists and was surprised to be most taken with the completely black room by Eric Orr called Zero Mass. I entered the room with trepidation and left after a few minutes. But something prompted me to ask a guard if I had missed anything. He kindly took me back into the room and gave me the confidence to stay long enough for my eyes to become accustomed to the very low light. The room was not a deprivation experience but an experiment in light and space after all.
Do I think that La Jolla is coming back as a center for the visual arts in San Diego? No, three new gallery spaces will not make that much difference. What I do think we are seeing is the re-bounding of the international art market being reflected in these galleries’ quest for a bit of that succulent pie. I hope that Thumbprint and Salazar have not put more on their plates than they can digest as I sincerely wish that they will succeed.
I was glad to see the James Irvine Foundation publication Getting in on the Act as they made a very good case for the value of the policies at SDVAN.They reported that building support for the arts in the future depends on encouraging more participation from our audiences.
The study identifies three main types of involvement; curatorial where the public makes decision about the content or direction of the project; public co-producing with the collaboration of professional artists; and finally when the public is asked to create their own works of art.
We have found that SD audiences want to meet the artists and love to sit down for a meal with them and even share in the process of making the work. We know that art gives people a way to identify their community, take pride in it and thus protect and improve it.
SDVAN continues in its efforts to gain more and more participation from our community. During the Art Meets Fashion 2011 public launch in April of this year, we invited the public to strut their stuff on our catwalk with fashions made by them or their friends. This popular part of the program helped to build the number who attended this event to 1000 and it was one of the most well attended events of the NTC Liberty Station complex.
Hats Off to Life is a project where we will be going into retirement communities and basing hat constructions on the life of some of the residents. We hope to hold a hat making workshop for them as well. We will strive to introduce participatory components into the DNA of Creativity project in the next two years.
However, having spent 6 weeks looking at art in London with very little personal participation, I can testify that this was an immensely satisfying experience. Not all art needs to be displayed with a participation element although a little education is never amiss for those who might want it.The new show at the SDMA, Mexican Modern Painting from The Andrés Blaisten Collection (through Feb 19, 2012), is wonderful to see just for the varied styles and high quality of the work on display. There are two educational rooms within the show space. One has a time line with four ways to listen and interact with the information presented. The other has specially commissioned drawing benches with a chance to create right there.
For SDVAN, not having our own brick and mortar venue has become one of our strongest strategies. We do not consider this a disadvantage or even something to strive for in our future plans.As we work alternatively online, in loaned spaces and even work to get into people homes, we see this as a cost effective and innovative way to go forward.
Today’s artists are collaborating, remixing and repurposing not just with their materials but with their cultural views. At SDVAN we encourage that and try hard to do it internally within the organization. We are a 100% volunteer organization with no salaries or building cost to cover. All our donations go into the funding of projects for the community. This is an alternative way of running a non-profit and one which has grown out of the needs of those we serve.
I was astounded when I first came to SD to see the hundreds of art association that exist here. Although they have not perhaps been very proactive in creating an art market, they have certainly been responsible for supporting the many cultural resources of our neighborhoods. The SD region has this incredibly rich pool of amateur and part time artists and their impact is underestimated, I believe. It is heartening to learn that a total of 33% of all adults create and attend art events.Add to that 17% who attend and 12% who make art but don’t attend and you get a whooping 62% of American engaged in creative processes.
Here are a few examples of visual arts project mentioned in the study that I thought you might enjoy:
The Art Gallery of Ontario’s In Your Facewas an open-submission art exhibit featuring 17,000 portraits collected from the public
The Davis Art Center’s Junk2Genius program celebrates the community’s commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle. This annual competition features 15 teams of community members competing in a timed sculpt-off using recycled materials
I am sure everyone has noticed how well attended the events aimed at the younger demographic group are when art is added to the entertainment. TNT at MCASD, Cocktails and Culture at SDMA, A-List at the Athenaeum and Art After Dark at the Oceanside Museum of Art, as well as the numerous vodka companies that hold launches at art gallery, are all opportunities for young adults to mix and mingle.
The really big question is how do we get that same audience to start buying art after they have attended an art show to eat, drink and mate? Suggesting education might be too big of a leap for those addled by alcohol. But the idea is to get them to start looking more closely at the art to develop some sort of choices that might lead to a desire to acquire. Here are two strategies to consider:
Roll playing: Hand out oodles of fake money and ask the guests to make choices about what art they would buy. A case of vodka goes to anyone who brings out the real thing and makes a purchase.
Match Making: ask couples to choose art for each other. This would entailed some work in figuring out the what and why. A bottle of vodka goes to the artist whose work is most chosen.
We need every trick in the book to build a healthier art world and that means where events are not only well attended but artists are supported hopefully in a monetary way.
One of the suggestions for a DNA of Creativity project that was generated in our June meeting was Super Heroes, the DNA of our future selves. Comic Con, host to all things with super powers, came to town in mid July close to the same time I was invited to a SD Foundation visioning exercise for the future of SD. Join them all together and that train of thought dumped me into the subject of power and how it is used in a successful community and what we expect from our leaders.
In my own limited case, power is not a goal in itself. But I seem to have accrued some power as a by-product of various projects that I had a passion to complete. For example, my phone calls or emails are answered, I am asked to make job recommendations, our events draw a crowd and we can fund some projects because of the money we have raised. I have the power to get things done especially for others and I try my best to be a force for the good in the community.
Leaders are known to hold power and leaders have affected our past, affect our present and have a huge responsibility to affect our future. To see that future calls for imagination and a fearless attitude towards charge. No matter how much we might like things to stand still, the world turns and courage is called for to make sure we are traveling in the right directions. My husband Darwin coined a phrase, “too brave to fail.” It refers to risk takers who aren’t afraid to have new ideas and make them public. These leaders are responsible enough to know that failure is not acceptable. Everyone who has an imagination and is willing to use it is a leader in my book. I just wish these leaders were the ones who held the power.
I hear a wonderful video talk sent out by Dan Springs about shattering your miss-conceptions by Jared Cohen and I realized yet again how important it is to have an open mind to allow creativity to flow. I also know that we can’t just talk about ideas we have to do things and do them with passion and conviction. That is why I am so excited about the DNA of Creativity project. I spent a day and a half at the Art of Science Learning Conference at Calit2 and then we held a DNA of Creativity meeting where 28 professional gathered to further discuss the project, give in put and feedback. This was our third meeting and I think we now have a project which has legs and will help us meet the goals not only of SDVAN but to follow the mission to fuse the art and science communities.
Now that Art Meets Fashion is almost over, I have had a chance to go to a few exhibitions and boy has it been fun to see what is up and about in San Diego. I am not claiming to have made a survey of everything out there, but I just visited the shows that were in my path.
Italo Scanga mini retrospective is at the Oceanside Museum of Artto Aug 21 and I am looking forward to seeing a selection of his more intimate objects at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. He broke new ground in San Diego but I think it is the way that his colleagues speak of his zest for art and his welcoming spirit that adds to his status. Also at the OMA is Beatrice Wood Drawings and Ceramics to Sept 18, a charming eccentric women with an exciting love life that she captured in her often naïve way which makes art so accessible to all. Jeff Yeoman was a star at the Gold Coast Paintings of Southern California, California Arts Club now over. There were a few other paintings that made the show worthwhile. I liked Eric Merrell and Ken Goldman and I imagine these lush landscapes were a treat for the Oceanside audience.
I enjoyed the crowd and the cookies at the Zandra Rhodes and Andrew Logan tea party at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. I know both and own many marvelous jewelry pieces by Andrew from my time in London. It appeared like there were lots of sales for this one day event. Code of Chromes by David Forbes now over but well reviewed by Kevin Freitas on our Picked RAW Peeled blogsite. I love color field works and so was enchanted by these made from duct tape. They are all about the edge and seem to be on the edge of being edgy so I will follow his work with great interest.
Lynn Engstrom and James Watts at RB Stevenson are now over but the Watts showed a new (to me) style not using his usually tin tacked method. It was almost globe shape of drift wood hanging with little men dangling like chandelier crystals. I saw a similar pieces at the Solomon’s home in La Jolla (they were host for the annual SDMA Contemporary Art Council picnic) called brick man. I loved the sense of humor that Watts brings to his work.
Behind What It’s In Front Of : John McLaughlin painting and Roy McMarkin sculptures at Quint Gallery gave me a chance to see their new space just east of Torrey Pines on Gerard. The façade has been deigned by Roman de Salvo (SD Art Prize) and has a retro maze feeling that suits the building perfectly. The show of augmented and altered bureaus was so intriguing and bodes well for exciting shows in the new larger space.
It is your last few days of Patricia Patterson show at the California Center for the Arts, Escondidoopen only until June 30 so get your skates on if you have not seen the show if only to see the one installation room which is brilliant papered her personal notes.
We looked forward to seeing Gustav Stickley and the American Arts and Crafts Movement as we lived for a time in a Renee Macintosh inspired home near Glasgow. This American version has strong ties to that European master’s work. On the night of our view we also got to see, John Dillemuth with his crazy and charming wood machines like a cross between a Da Vinci invention and Rube Goldberg and Brian Zimmerman with his astounding chairs which seemed to be site specific rising up in the atrium of quietly adding to the aesthetics of the eastern rooms. Both were part of the Summer Salon Series, What Does a City Need, Every Thursday from June 2 to Sept 1 at The San Diego Museum of Art Balboa Park, 92101 and highly recommended. By the way to the parties at the SMDA are elegant and fun and real crowd pleasers with special cocktails and exotic foods. Well done to the staff for putting on these events for people who really want to see the art besides having a good time. I think they hit just the right balance.
Who wouldn’t like wondering among the incredible gardens with exotic flora and cascading waterfalls of the SD Botanic Gardens but an added pleasure is theNew Sculpture installation curated by Naomi Nussbaum (Synergy Art Foundation) aided by Dennis Batt. Special pieces by Cheryl Tall (with added mosaic skirts), Jeffery Laudenslager (who continues to grow as a master kinetic artist), Deanne Sabeck (new 3-d column of glowing light), Sandra Chanis (cleverly sites over water), and many, many more.
At the Lux Art Institute, see the work of South African sculptor Claudette Schreuders and the new sculpture she created while in residence at Lux. These works are an unexpected blend of realistic and cartoon that draws you in and then surprised you with a certain poignancy. A big wow for the ceramic objects for sale by Kelly Schnorrwho reproduced ordinary objects but added unusual colors and transfers to show her quirky take on life. Very reasonably priced as well.
I also went to Hera Hub a new business center for women started by Felena Hanson for a Legal Issues in Business workshop by Amanda L. Mineer from the Legal Center for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs, Inc. Watch her new space for other events of interest to those setting up shop of some kind or another.
I end with just a plain old crazy assed Mid-summer party at Fusion Glass Company in La Mesa full of artists wearing wings and sporting wands and eating, drinking, and dancing. All this gaiety was a thank you to their customers and artists for a great year of sales. No fee, no cause, just bohemian artists doing what they do best. A big thank you to Debb and Paul for including us.
Putting our Tax dollars to Work or what I would do if I were Arts and Culture Commissioner.
Okay, I will probably never be a commissioner for Arts and Culture, but I had a good fantasy while I was in the shower and thought I would share some thoughts. You never know when seeds of ideas might sprout. I have no doubt things need to shake up a bit and these ideas would certainly do that
Throw out the current plan for distributing TOT dollars. It is too much paperwork that no one wants to complete or read. Instead instigate a nomination process and a lottery draw to see who gets what. How great would it be if a tiny organization got a wind fall and could run with it?
All commissioners would be responsible for one interactive community project during their term. They would mentor and support the project to make sure it was excellent.
A Commission for Art and Culture Limousine would be on call once a week to take VIPs to art events. Commissioners would be responsible for filling this car up with different people for every trip thus widening the supporter of the arts and being seen to be present in the community. Only limited number of these trips would go to large established organization events. VIP would have a wide definition: politicians, community leaders, entertainment stars, sport stars, industry leaders, etc. A blog would be kept on these trips and statement taken from the VIPs.
The Commission would stand fully in back of SD Art Month and do everything possible to make this an awareness time for the value of the arts in our community. They would encourage cross collaborations of all kinds.
The Commission would hold the 21 st century version of a decathlon. Each entrant to complete a 100 Meter Race, High Jump, Hurdles, Discus, Swim/Surf, Painting, Poetry, Dance, Video, and Song.
Now it is your turn. Do you have a fantasy of what you would do as commissioner? Blog away.
PS This is written with respect to the current Commission for Arts and Culture. It is a hard job, we know.
Besides the fact that this event takes more than 9 months to gestate, I feel that it is much like carrying a fetus to term. Strange for me to say perhaps, as I have never born a real child, but just look at the process and make up your own mind.
It is always easy to procreate with a partner and whether you call it a marriage or a friendship, I could ask for non better than Felena Hansen who is the Fashion Designer coordinator for Art Meets Fashion.
We turn to Krystel Tien, Fashion Show coordinator with the aid of Loren Smith Productions for our baby shower i.e. thefashion show launch. This is the celebration for all the participants and a few special guests. We are anticipating the more extensive shows in the various venues and giving the project its extra push into the world.
You need a Midwife standing by to aid you through the process and Rosemary KimBal does proof reading, mans a desk, gives me a ride…what ever I may need most. Amazingly she is also making with the Valentine Viannay the scarves commemorating the project and also fabric for the dance performance and even doing a demonstration of Giant Brush painting at the Art Walk (the event draws 150,000 on one day.) where she will help us promote Art Meets Fashion.
Birthing is a natural process but it is essential to have this vital person to supply money transfusions Doctor Carolann Dekker is our Sponsorship Liaison
Standing by is the Nurse practitioner, Lauren Letizio who coordinates the over 35 Fringe Event which are cross promoted during this project. We consider them all our Neighbors who lend a hand when needed.
What could be more vital than choosing the correct hospital and with the help of Constance White and Susanna Pereda we secured the San Diego International Airport to birth the project.
It’s sextuplets! We thought we had an 11 pound (team.venue) baby, but it turns out there is an online competition put hosted by Brian Willis and Zhibit.org with winners presented at the L Street Fine Art Gallery by Kay Colvin , an AMF artists exhibition at San Diego Dance Theater directed by Aimee Dupuis, a Mannequin show organized by Denise Bonaimo and Ariane Brittany at the NTC, a group show at the SD Airport and all those fringe events galore.
We have the glorious fortune to have three Godmothers, ,Irene de Watteville who watches over us and Rana Sampson, first lady of SD and our honorary patron and Jodi Kadesh, NBC San Diego Traffic & Weather Anchor and MC for our fashion show at the airport.
Christening is the time you declare your joy to the entire world and what nicer place than the NTC Promenade at Liberty Station for our public launch party hosted by Alan Ziter and with a dance performance by Jean Isaacs, San Diego Dance Theater and fashion show coordinator Ranee Alano. Having the public join in on the catwalk is an extra bonus with all that good will and best wishes.
Spreading the good news is Kim Richards our PR Liaison, .Louisa Garcia the documenter coordinator and Art Blog Editor, Erinn Ryan our Fashion Blog Editor. We have Adam Levins and Jessica Mandeville to thank for creating the video promotion of the project. Watch for the video by John Schell and those wonderful baby pictures by Kira Corser and Clarissa Danielle Sepulveda who documents the SD International Airport Fashion show, April 28, 2011
It truly take a village to raise a child and ours is well tended by the more than 200 collaborators who are the artists, the fashion designers, the educators, the documenters, the gallery and boutiques owners. It’s a boy, It’s a girl….it’s Art Meets Fashion. Pass the cigars!
We had our annual brainstorming meeting for SDVAN future projects and this one on a combined Art and Science promotion took off like a rocket. Kaz Maslanka stepped forward to construct our DNA of Creativity blog website where all the member of this group can share ideas and get to know each other. The result of all of this is that we have a bumper crop of new links to share and a special blog site for you to visit to see them.
Synergy is the optimum word for this blog and that is no surprise when Naomi Nussbaum (Synergy Art Foundation) suggested we connect with UCSD, which has a developed interdisciplinary program with Art and Science in one building. With the help of Portia la Touche, we had an invitation for a special guided tour of Calit2 at UCSD.
First stop for me was the lecture by Maurizio Seracini (also know as the DiVinci Detective), which was part of the UCSD 50th Celebration and held at the Price Center. Seracini is obviously passionate and sincere about his wish to bring the scientific process to the conservation of art works. He is also creative about his investigations. The story I like the best revealed his Eureka moment while trying to discover if there were hidden murals behind white washed walls in an old Italian building. Nothing was revealed using all his special equipment until he remembered one machine was designed especially to work well though liquid. . A quick spray of the walls with a water mist and all was revealed. Seracini is Adjt Professor, Director, UCSD Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archaeology (CISA3) which is part of the Jacobs School of Engineering. He has a vision to put UCSD on the international map and has arranged a10 year collaboration at the Italian home of Amerigo Vespucci for student to do oversea studies.
Back to the tour of Calit2 and the exhibition Synthesis: Processing and Collaboration includingVirtual Reality installation for the StarCAVE with special guest Tom DeFanti, Director of Visualization and Senior Research Scientist at Calit2 . Trish Stone was our tour Director and is the Gallery Coordinator at Atchinson Hall. Kira Carrillo Corser (pictures above) and Kay Colvin ( View Album) both took photos to share. Tom showed us not only the StarCave, a space with motion detecting interaction programs, but also his mobile communication system where multiple computer screens are visible and uploaded wirelessly. Expensive equipment was on view, but we thought less aesthetics than one would have wished.
We hope to invent some way to have a collaboration with UCSD which does not involve visiting the campus. They realize they have a parking problem and their maps are outdated and thus confusing. Even the entrance to the building from the street was through a dark tunnel with no signage. It will be interesting to see if we can help shine some light on them outside of the confines of academia. Time will tell.
I attended the Full Steam Ahead meeting pulled together by Jessica McKimmie of Sneaker Academy at Art Expression Gallery quite soon after that. One of discussion points was the definition of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). We now see this term more clearly as a placeholder for the idea of interdisciplinary combinations of art and science. There is no STEAM organization but STEAM with the added “A” for arts re-enforced the idea that the arts are essential part of recovering our economy. John Eger tackles this subject in his article for the Huffington Post. (Remember his book Arts Education and the Innovation Economy: Ensuring America's Success in the 21st Century now available at Amazon)
Edward Abeyta, director of Student and Client Services at UCSD has a team working to compile a resource called Steam Manifesto similar and complimentary to DNA of Creativity and it is worth checking it out as well.
Now for some interesting statistics on how the Arts in STEM (no “A”) contribute to the economy. Dr. Francis X. Kane is quoted, "Of the two million U.S. Arts jobs requiring significant technology proficiency 10% are architects; 11% are fine artists, art directors and animators, 7% are producers and directors; and 7% are photographers. The products of these disciplines represent 6.4% of the U.S. economy and over $126 billion annually in revenue from foreign trade." In this same article he mentions TEAM-STEM. Read the whole article on the SteamManifesto site:
Our next DNA of creativity meeting is Tuesday April 12 from 10 am to noon. We have just learned of a very promising potential funder for this project, so please let us know if you want to attend.
OK, you are going to have to bear with me as I just got the digital video recorder and the editing software isn’t even paid for yet. But for those of you not able to attend the LA Contemporary Art Fair or those who went and want a bit of a memory of it, you can watch my little attempt on UTube and on SDVAN in this blog.
We thought the fair was a bit smaller and not quite as good as the Art SD one, but we did have a very nice day. We went early afternoon of the first full day of the fair (a Friday) and had no trouble parking and no large crowds either. I am sure it was packed on the opening night.
.I really liked the Quint Gallery display of photographs by Lee Materazzi. Wow that woman is something else. She is a winner. Make sure and flip the pages of her book in this link to see the whole show.
I included the new little sheep with the pink neon by David Adey (SD Art Prize 2010) from Luis de Jesus Gallery.. I am looking forward to seeing his whole presentation through The Contemporary Committee of the SD Museum of Art. If you don’t know about this group, you should. It is very inexpensive to join and you go to collectors’ homes to hear presentations by selected artists.
The best artist who I discovered for the first time was Andrew Schoulz who is from Milwaukee but showing at a Milan gallery Jerome Zodo. His lines and compositions were compelling to me
Ace Gallery had huge targets of concentric circles by Christian Schoeller (not available for view in the catalog or online but you can’t miss them on the video). Justin Bower’s huge heads at Ace (also available locally at Alexander Salazar Fine Art were show stoppers as well.
Patrick Painter Gallery featured Liz Croft and her huge needle points were homey and contemporary at the same time.
Like all viewers, I am attracted by the things that move and glitter. Some of these were most interesting as well, but on retrospection, I think the quality works were those from San Diego. Rather made me proud.
Here is our pick of the best of the Tidbits that were recorded over the entire year of 2010 for you to re-digest and enjoy. These were first posted in our RAW gossip column.
Dec: "Painter of Light" Thomas Kinkade, MONTEREY, CA, loved and hated for his cutesy home and hearth paintings will go to jail in June for drunk driving. Read about his other debaucheries in the full article in ArtInfo. PS. Did you know that his production company declared bankruptcy? How the mighty have fallen.
Eyes in the back of your head department: Professor Wafaa Bilal had a digital camera implanted in the back of his head, in New York. Bilal, a performance artist, was commissioned by the Arab Museum of Modern Art in Doha, Qatar and the work is titled The 3rd I which is on view from December.
The ultimate conceptual Christmas tree has been created by Giorgio Sadotti for Tate Britain The work, entitled Flower Ssnake, is an unadorned spruce with a bull whip coiled at it base. On 5 January 2011, the spell of Christmas will be dramatically whipped out of the tree in a performance art finale.
Nov: For the category of why can’t we have this in San Diego Harbor: Now in its second year, DRIFT is staged by Illuminate Productions with installations include waterfalls at two locations on the river which feature words from live news feeds falling through a curtain of water. The amazing technology used to create “bit.fal”l allows words to be displayed in mid-air in the droplets.
Oct : Documentary film, Waiting for Hockneyis a mesmerizing true story about an artist who spends 10 years working on a portrait and wants David Hockney to have the honor of discovering him. As the documentary unfolds it weaves between the stories of how/why the artist spent 10 years making this portrait and his attempts to meet Hockney. Check out the website for a great poppy seed cake!
Aug: Young vandals are tipping 600 pound sculpture cows over in Burlington, Vermont. Those colorfully painted cud chewers are hitting the dust, but one of them managed to hit back and broke the foot of its attacker. The town has organized bartenders to watch out for the cow’s safety. They call them ‘cow tenders”. How come we find ourselves rooting for the vandals on this one?
July: Charles Saatchi just gave his $37 million dollar collection to the British government and his museum will be re-titled the MOCA London. Also from London: five members of the art activist group Culture Beyond Oil poured non-toxic black oil around the British Museum’s world famous Easter Island sculpture, in protest at BP’s sponsorship of the museum. They were careful not to get any oil on the art.
May : Peter Schjeldahl (Man of the World, New Yorker, Dec 21, 2009), reminds us, “Pleasure is the only trusty teacher and guarantor of seriousness in art.”
April :The EyeWriter has been chosen as the winner of the first FutureEverything Award, a £10,000 prize set up to celebrate the creative imagination that will shape our future. The EyeWriter is a pair of low-cost eye-tracking glasses that allow artists and graffiti writers with paralysis to draw using only their eyes. Inspired by Tony Quan, a graffiti writer, social activist and publisher who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (AML) in 2003, The EyeWriter is the result of collaboration with five other artists and a production company. Tony Quan comments: ‘Art is a tool of empowerment and social change, and I consider myself blessed to be able to create and use my work to promote health reform…”
March: Check out these paddy fields in Japan that have been planted with various colored rice to create living murals. Definitely worth a click. Thanks to Deanne Sabeck for feeding our souls with this tidbit. When you dream in color, it's a pigment of your imagination
Feb:Alberto Giacometti’sL’homme qui marche I (Walking Man I) sold for $104,327,006 and is now the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction which was reported by Sotheby’s.
2010 Past A+Art Blog including Best Tidbits for the Twelve MOnths of 2010
Katherine Sweetman has a home at SDVAN
Filling a Need
Collectors Take Note
Birthing Process
...And Three to Go
Willing to Fail Life, Luck and Survival
Arting: are we consuming the right art?
Cliffnotes: One Month Condensed into One Week
Allison Renshaw Discovered
Dreams and Visions: MOvers and Shakers 2
State of the Arts 2010 - the Future of Art Publications
2009 Past A+ Art Blogs including London and the Venice Biennial, 2009
Meet the Press Beyond the Borders International Art (BTBIAF) Interpersonal Theory of Art: Little & Large community phenomenon and the museum exhibition, Calder Jewelry at SDMA
Little and Large Launch Little & Large Introduciton
The Recycling Buzz Economic Realities for the arts in May 2009
Seven volunteer Inspried Visual Arts Projects Snapshot – One women’s personal views on Changing Perspectives in the San Diego Art Scene: Notes from the panel discussion The Economy and Affordable Live/Work Spaces
State of the Arts 2009
2008 Past A+ Art Blogs including State of the Arts 2008
Hungry for Chinese Art?
Eat Your Art Out plus John Baldessari conversation with Hugh Davies
London Burning: A Damien Hirst Update SD Flash Forward; Movers and Shakers Speak Out Museum Trends: NY Times Cliff Notes
London Newsletter 2008 Art Collecting Clubs Part II Artcentric Interiors Poopielickles for All: attending Art Fairs in LA Reading the Zines for Good Ideas, Feb 2008 Changing Power Base: State of the Arts 2008
2007 Past A+ Art Blogsincluding
Burnished by Fire: Stories of Firestorm, November 2007 The What and the How and the Wow, October, 2007 Careerist Artist, September, 2007 Non-Profit is not a Free Ride, July 2007 Crowd Control at Museums, June, 2007
May and It'sDarling Buds - May, 2007
Cruelty Free Art Zone - April, 2007
Critical Issues Facing the Arts, March, 2007 – The James Irvine Foundation, September 2006 summary
Letter from London Dec 2006 - Feb 2007 State of the Arts Jan 2007
2006 Past A+ Art Blogs Crossover: How Artists Build Careers Art and Wine Tour of Northern CA- October, 2006 Web Heaven- August, 2006Advice on Websites for Artists Vacation Art-July, 2006 Art Critic Revealed: Robert Pincus - June, 2006 Artistic Freedoms- May 2006 Art and Science, Progress and Mystery - April, 2006 Building Market Share - March, 2006 Glass to Go - February, 2006 Collectors on Show - January, 2006
PATRICIA FRISCHER, author of "The Artist and the Art of Marketing" has lectured extensively on marketing for artists. She is a trainer of artists’ agents, art dealers, consultant and collectors. Frischer has taken on the roles of gallerist, curator, writer, teacher, website coordinator and artist. Her many metamorphoses make her difficult to fit into any of the usual art world categories. She is a founding member and coordinator of the San Diego Visual Arts Network, (www.SDVAN.net ) which funds the SD Art Prize, directory and events calendar and SmART Collector features. Her own artwork (www.DrawsCrowd.com ) has been shown internationally and her most recent one person show was at Oxford University.
